MSA is a small mine safety company that does it all to control costs. It’s
great that they set a baseline and estimated value against it.

This small law department was able to implement a lot of value tools,
resulting in improved costs, predictability and outcomes. They focused on
use of technology and improved reporting.

first with those firms whose institutional knowledge
couldn’t easily be replaced. We were committed to
driving value on more than just rate reductions or
discounts,” Sciullo says.

“We also wanted to reward counsel who
understood our value-based approach
by using their expertise nationally,” she
continues. “In this way, we elevated the
people who really got it.”

MSA also selected Reed Smith partner John Hooper
as national coordinating counsel. Company and firm
jointly develop an annual budget, each year aiming
for improved efficiencies and greater savings. They
monitor work levels weekly and track the budget bimonthly against pre-established targets. Local counsel
submit weekly standardized reports to national
coordinating counsel weekly, who processes them into
a template for Sciullo’s review.

“The best national counsel is the in-house lawyer, exceptwhen the issue gets so large that it can’t be handled byone person,” Hooper says. “We tightly manage around astrategy that is consistent across the country, and ensurethat only the necessary work gets done.”Sciullo drew this “focus on the necessary” themearound the process of paying and documentingsettlements as well. Working with MSA’s continuousimprovement specialists, she and her team developedvalue stream maps to illustrate current and futurestates of the legal department and its work. Theybrainstormed process improvements to reduce non-value-added work and streamline cumbersome tasksand forms.

“What lawyers do is very high-level, sophisticated
work, but it is not all legal artistry,” Sciullo says.
“Where there are repeat, routine tasks, we can benefit
from creating an optimized process. At the same time,
we are not trying to stuff every skill into a box or a
form. There’s room for both creativity and efficiency.”
The outcomes prove that you can. Since beginning
the value journey, MSA has achieved a nearly 20
percent reduction in defense expense of toxic tort
litigation over 2011 levels. Retention of proper
settlement documentation has been increased from 70
percent to 100 percent, and, in some areas, settlement
expense has been reduced by millions of dollars.

“For many companies, litigation is a way
of life,” Sciullo says. “We can’t make it
disappear, but we can make the burden
a little lighter.” n